ENPages That Mention Dundathu
Correspondence Between Sydney May And F.J Watson Concerning Aboriginal Place Names (ITM489477)
8
[left margin] Mr. S. May. with compliments FJ Watson
(1) Union Street, Toowong, S.W.1. Nov. 24th, 1942.
Re the place name Dundathu.
Dundathu was originally the name of a sawmill and its township situated on the bank of the Mary River some nine miles below Maryborough. This mill was established by Messrs Pettigrew and Sim in about 1860 and abandoned about 1880, but the locality and the adjoining river reach retain the name.
The name is derived from the local (Kabi) word, dhan-dauwa-dhu, meaning"Place of timber" , from dhan, a contraction of dhagun, dauwa, dry or withered, and dhu, tree or wood, the combined words, dauwa-dhu, being the nearest translation of the English word timber, i.e. sawn timber.
It has been generally accepted, probably on the authority of "Tom Petrie's Reminiscences" that the name, Dundathu ,was identical with the natives' name for the Kauri pine tree, which Petrie gave as dundardoom. This arose, no doubt, from the fact that at Dundathu the first Queensland kauri pine was milled and exported therefrom ,and it became generally known as Dundathu pine.
The habitat of the kauri pine, Agathis robusta, of South Queensland, is Great Sandy, or Fraser's Island and a restricted area of the mainland adjacent thereto ,including the area about Tin Can Bay, from whence this log timber used to be rafted to to Dundathu, and , later , to Maryborough sawmills.
The aboriginals' name for the kauri pine throughout the said area is "nunmula" (nunmoola).
Note/
I have long been in possession of the above information but deferred recording it until I could obtain a statement, from a reliable aboriginal source ,substantiating the word nunmula, as the Wide Bay aborigines' name for the kauri pine tree, which I have recently been enabled to do.
9
COPY:
Union Street, Toowong, S.W.1. November 24th, 1942.
Re the place name Dundathu.
Dundathu was originally the name of a sawmill and its township situated on the bank of the Mary River some nine miles below Maryborough. This mill was established by Messrs. Pettigrew and Sim in about 1860 and abandoned about 1880, but the locality and the adjoining river reach retain the name.
The name is derived from the local (Kabi) word, dhan-dauwa-dhu, meaning "place of timber" , from dhan, a contraction of dhagun, dauwa, dry or withered, and dhu, tree or wood, the combined words, dauwa-dhu, being the nearest translation of the English word timber, i.e. sawn timber.
It has been generally accepted, probably on the authority of Tom Petrie's Reminiscences", that the name, Dundathu, was identical with the natives' name for the Kauri pine tree, which Petrie gave as dundardoom. This arose, no doubt, from the fact that at Dundathu the first Queensland kauri pine was milled and exported therefrom, and it became generally known as Dundathu pine.
The habitat of the kauri pine, Agathis robusta, of South Queensland, is Great Sandy or Fraser's Island and a restricted area of the mainland adjacent thereto, including the area about Tin Can Bay, from whence this log timber used to be rafted to Dundathu and later, to Maryborough sawmills.
The aboriginals' name for the kauri pine throughout the said area is "nunmula" (nunmoola).
(Signd.) F. J. Watson
Note:
I have long been in possession of the above information but deferred recording it until I could obtain a statement, from a reliable aboriginal source, substantiating the word "nunmula", as the Wide Bay aborigines' name for the kauri pine tree, which I have recently been enabled to do.
(Signed.) F.J.W.
10
COPY:
Union Street, Toowong, S.W.1. November 24th, 1942.
Re the place name Dundathu.
Dundathu was originally the name of a sawmill and its township situated on the bank of the Mary River some nine miles below Maryborough. This mill was established by Messrs. Pettigrew and Sim in about 1860 and abandoned about 1880, but the locality and the adjoining river reach retain the name.
The name is derived from the local (Kabi) word, dhan-dauwa-dhu, meaning "place of timber" , from dhan, a contraction of dhagun, dauwa, dry or withered, and dhu, tree or wood, the combined words, dauwa-dhu, being the nearest translation of the English word timber, i.e. sawn timber.
It has been generally accepted, probably on the authority of Tom Petrie's Reminiscences", that the name, Dundathu, was identical with the natives' name for the Kauri pine tree, which Petrie gave as dundardoom. This arose, no doubt, from the fact that at Dundathu the first Queensland kauri pine was milled and exported therefrom, and it became generally known as Dundathu pine.
The habitat of the kauri pine, Agathis robusta, of South Queensland, is Great Sandy or Fraser's Island and a restricted area of the mainland adjacent thereto, including the area about Tin Can Bay, from whence this log timber used to be rafted to Dundathu and later, to Maryborough sawmills.
The aboriginals' name for the kauri pine throughout the said area is "nunmula" (nunmoola).
(Signd.) F. J. Watson.
Note:
I have long been in possession of the above information but deferred recording it until I could obtain a statement, from a reliable aboriginal source, substantiating the word "nunmula", as the Wide Bay aborigines' name for the kauri pine tree, which I have recently been enabled to do.
(Signed.) F.J.W.
95
[right margin] By [F J Watson]
A railway station, farming and timber-getting centre. Situated on the Nanango Railway.
This name is of Kabi and also Wakka origin. Its meaning is " a fight about a woman", from "kin, or gin", a woman, and "bumbe" , to beat". A kin-bumbe is a common occurrence among the blacks, in which case one adversary is challenged by the other and certain rules have to be strictly regarded,an infringement of which renders the offender liable to punishment by onlookers. In the present instance the fight became historical by reason that one of the contestants spreared his opponent while he was sitting down and not prepared to defend himself. In such a case the penalty was death for the offender, and thus the place/came to be known to the blacks by the above name.
Once the site of a sawmill owned by Pettigrew & Sim, situated on the left bank of the Mary River, 10 miles below Maryborough,
It is still the name of a reach in the Mary River. According to Tom Petrie the name is derived from the native name of the Kauri pine tree, " dundar'dum".
Originally a cattle station on the Burnett River some 12 miles from Bundaberg; first occupied by A.&R.Walker. in 1857. Later on,the scrub land on the north bank of the river was occupied by Gibson Brothers who there formed a sugar plantation and sugar mill for which the name Bingera was retained.
The cattle station is still occupied by descendants of the original owners. Incidentally, it may be mentioned that the Gibson's, in early day's of sugar-making in Queensland,owned and operated a small sugar-mill at Bulimba in which the crushing plant with vertical rollers was driven by horse-power, an interesting contrast to the large modern plant now in use at Bingera.
The name, translated for me by a Kabi native, is the native's name for the fish, bony bream.